Jaxson and his fourth-grade
classmates painted their handprints with gold, red, blue and green paint and
cut them out. They placed them, along with painted wooden hearts, on a mural
painted by Corner Canyon High School art club members.

“It’s my first mural I’ve
helped make and we’re doing it to help the kids in the hospital feel better. We
want them to know that people love them and care and support them,” he said.

“We decided on the theme,
‘our hearts and helping hands can help anything,’ and wanted to allow every
student the opportunity to be involved,” said Welling about the third mural she
has overseen for the hospital. “We also wanted the high school students to be
the ones to take the lead and mentor our young emerging artists.”

Davis decided this would be a
good opportunity for students in Corner Canyon’s art club. The club invites
students to explore opportunities that may not be offered in a class such as
carving pumpkins, silkscreen printing shirts and embroidery.

Corner Canyon art club members painted the mural, which Draper Elementary students embellished with their artwork. (Amelia Davis/Corner Canyon)

When Davis met with her club,
the students chose to use three 4-by-6-foot panels to create the mural. They
also wanted to keep the artwork simple and the colors relaxing and
comforting.

It was Corner Canyon junior Peyton
Feurer who created a sketch that would become the basis for the mural with
children playing around a tree.

Peyton’s
twin sister, Avery, is the president of the art club.

“We wanted to emphasize the
simple expression of childhood joy as we created this artwork together,” Avery
said, adding that it was fun to return to her elementary school to share her
love of art with current students.

As fourth-graders placed
their handprints on the mural, high school students helped them with the
adhesive and patted them into place on and around the tree.

Junior Lauren Wilson said they
wanted the mural to not overshadow the featured aspects of the handprints and
hearts.

“We
wanted it to be a fun piece of art we could work on with the Draper Elementary
students,” she said.

Welling
said the fourth-graders have been eager to be involved.

“To see their excitement and
twinkles in their eyes, you know they realize they are a part of something
special and are thrilled to contribute to this mural,” she said.

Draper
Elementary teacher Amy Brand agreed it has been a rewarding opportunity for her
students.

“They’re learning that they
are part of a bigger picture, but they can take ownership of their part,” she
said. “We’ve talked about how one person
can make a difference and without them, and their hearts and handprints,
there’s a missing piece.”